7 years of examination of the case of clinical negligence in Moldova

Two doctors in Moldova were accused of clinical negligence, which led to the death of the patient (art.213 of Criminal Code).

On February 26, 2009 a young woman from Chisinau called an ambulance because of feeling sick. The emergency doctor conducted a superficial examination, set a wrong diagnosis and inadequate treatment. In the evening the woman felt worse and called the family doctor, which as well as the emergency doctor didn’t examine her properly and made clinical conclusions based on the first diagnosis. The 21-year-old patient died the next day.

The expert investigations for establishing the cause of death lasted 4 years. In final it was fixed that the doctors set a wrong diagnosis and incorrect treatment for the patient, who needed urgent hospitalization. The woman died because of mistakes made by both doctors.

During the 7 years of the persecution three judges changed at the court.

Recently the court of Riscani district of Chisinau announced a sentence of one year of imprisonment for the 44 and 57 years old doctors. However, on account of the long term of persecution the doctors were set at liberty and the criminal case was closed. 200 000 lei were seized from the banking account of the doctors in order to pay the non-pecuniary damages for the family of the deceased patient.